lovereading

 

Journal: September 2007 - June 2008

Page history last edited by Mrs Reid 1 yr ago

Mrs Reid's Journal

 

September 2007 - June 2008

 

 

 

 

Title

Author

Brief Description

1 

 The Big Burn 

Jeanette Ingold

It is 1910 and fires are raging throughout Montana and Idaho. A cold front swoops in bringing gale force winds with it and the fire blows up. The book follows four young characters all trying to hold onto the places and the people they love, while also accepting that life will never be the same. Loved this book, which also contains field notes on the wildfires of 1910 - truly scary stuff.

 

 

2

 Tsubasa     

(5)

 Clamp   

I am so grateful to Elise for introducing me to this series. I love it! This is book 5 in the Tsubasa manga series, and continues to chronicle the attempts of Syaoran and friends to retrieve Sakura's memory feathers. The story of the missing children and Princess Emerald is concluded. I would highly recommend this series of books!
 3

 Tough Boy Sonatas 

Curtis L. Crisler

 A series of poems that give voice to the male youth of Gary, Indiana - a city that is very different to River Falls, WI. The hometown of Michael Jackson, Gary is a tough place to grow up. Drugs and crime are common events, and the boys growing up there have important choices to make. The poems are powerful, and they force you to think about the lives of others elsewhere. Harsh reading, but important.

4

 

Burying the Sun

Gloria Whelan

Hitler's attacks against England and Europe are widely known, but the tale of Russia's own battle with the dictator is not. The novel is set in Leningrad, and the reader watches as a city fights for its life. It is hard to imagine anybody surviving the nightmare!

 

5

 

Bird Springs

Carolyn

Marsden

 This short novel follows Gregory's journey adapting from life on a Navajo Reservation to life in urban Tucson. The novel is realistic and explores successfully the dynamics of a family torn from its heritage.

 

 6

 

A Suitcase of Seaweed

Janet Wong

 In this collection of poetry, Janet Wong explores her Korean, Chinese and American background with humour and honesty. This is a short, simple litle book, but I liked it a lot!

 

 

7

 

The Conch Bearer

Chitra Banerjee

Divakruni

 I loved this book, and the setting has so much to do with why I loved it. It is set amidst the incredibly colorful landscape of India, where the smell of samosas and the busy activity of the cities encountered. India is depicted as a magical place, and you find it easy to believe in the magic that does occur. Anand is our hero, and he must travel to the Silver Valley in order to secure the safety of the conch, a powerful object that the evil Subharanu must not get his hands on. Nisha, a girl from the streets, and Abadhyatta, an old Healer and member of the Brotherhood, are his companions. Super good! Can't wait to read the sequel!

 

 

8

 

The Darkest Evening

William Durbin

 A great young adult novel about a Finnish-American family living who are lured to communist Russia from Minnesota's Mesabi Range by Russian communist recruiters. The recruiters promise a utopian life living out Marx's ideals, but that is not the reality. Instead, the Maki family face harsh living conditions, the constant threat of abduction and even death, and The Terror that represents Stalin's brutal reign. It is clear why Joseph Stalin become (for a while) a close ally of Adolf Hitler. This book is a terrifying example of how power can turn men into monsters. I could not put this book down!   

 

9 

 

Hit and Run

Lurlene McDaniel

 The lives of four teens collide one fateful night when  Analise is knocked off of her bike by Quin, the star of the high school baseball team. Analise ends up in a coma, and her boyfriend, Jeremy, watches her deterioration in disbelief. Quin does not admit to the accident, and it is left to his 'girlfriend', Laurie, to decide whether the truth should be known. This is a novel about facing the consequences of the life-changing, split-second choices that have the power to change (and end) lives.

 

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